For 11-year-old Te-Atawhai Campbell, there is nothing to be afraid of on the rugby field.
Te-Atawhai was leading from the front yesterday for her Southern Mighty Magpies team, which has not been beaten for six years.
Te-Atawhai was the only girl playing in her team, which yesterday won its division at the 56th annual Taieri Junior Rugby Sevens tournament.
The team won the under-12 division, beating Pirates 51-0 to take the title.
Te-Atawhai said she started playing rugby when she was 4 or 5.
She played out in front as a hooker in the tournament yesterday.
''It's real fun,'' she said.
''I've been on the front row right through the whole time I've been playing.''
The Magpie under-12 side's winning run includes both sevens competitions but also in 15-a-side Saturday rugby.
Coach Brett McCormack said the children were ''on form''.
''It's pretty special.
''The kids go out there and love what they're doing.
''The most important thing is to express yourself, have fun [and] be aggressive.''
Mr McCormack said Te-Atawhai ''fits in with the boys real good''.
''She's a quiet, reserved girl but she does all her talking with the rugby pass.
''She's very coachable.''
The Southern Mighty Magpies joined 81 other teams in the tournament, aged from under-7 to under-13.
Taieri Junior Rugby Club president Tim Guthrie said more than 800 children participated and he estimated 2000 parents and spectators attended.
He said the atmosphere was ''very positive'' and there was ''a lot of passion''.
''Everyone was here for the kids,'' he said.
For the first time this year, there was a girls-only grade for the tournament, open to girls in years 3-5 at primary school.
The tournament was to be held on Queen's Birthday Weekend but was postponed because of bad weather.
Mr Guthrie said 95 teams registered but, because of the timing, some had to pull out.
Nevertheless, he was pleased with the turnout and yesterday's weather.
''Mother Nature's done a great job today,'' he said.
Teams came from Dunedin, Lawrence, Milton and the Clutha region.
Winners for each division were: Toko (under-13), Southern (under-12), Green Island (under-11), Pirates (under-10), Clutha (under-9), Taieri Gold (under-8) and Lawrence (under-7).
-By Tom Kitchin
